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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28088202">Winter Wonderland</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireborn/pseuds/Fireborn'>Fireborn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas fic, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, like this really is 100 percent feel-good fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:42:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,124</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28088202</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireborn/pseuds/Fireborn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><br/>Sora decides the Mysterious Tower could use a few dashes of holiday cheer, so Riku comes up with the brilliant plant of borrowing Master Yen Sid’s magical wizard hat. What could go wrong?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Winter Wonderland</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Credits for this idea go to databoyreekoo! Thank you so much for letting me use it, I had so much fun writing this! Thank you also to Mousapelli for patiently betaing this for me, laughing over my typos, and helping me make it funnier, as always. You're the best!</p><p>Also, if you're wondering why Kairi and Lea are still at the Tower, this idea was conceived before KHMoM came out... Creative license and all 😉 </p><p>Happy holidays, everyone!!! ❤️</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was five days to Christmas when Sora woke up from a dream with his eyebrows drawn together and a pout on his lips. He didn’t <em>mean</em> to pout, it just happened sort of automatically, and to hide it he nuzzled his face into Riku’s warm, musky-smelling T-shirt. The hum of magic was quiet in the Mysterious Tower this early in the morning, and the silence was only broken by the cheerful bird chirps outside. (Why they chirped, Sora couldn’t tell because there was no sunrise here, so how did these birds even know when to wake up and sing?)</p><p>After a few seconds, Sora sighed—warm breath moistening the cotton underneath his lips—and he tried to keep still so as not to wake up Riku with his moping. But Riku was <em>Riku</em>, Sora’s best friend, his boyfriend, his Dream Eater, and Riku always seemed to know how Sora was feeling and what he needed—sometimes even more so than Sora himself did. </p><p>Riku shifted, and then there was a hand in Sora’s hair, and Riku’s arm tightened around him. Sora made a low rumbling noise, partly because the hand felt so nice, and partly because he felt he was allowed to grumble a little. </p><p>The truth was that Sora had been walking around the Tower for days now, knowing something was off and not being able to put his finger on it. But after the dream he’d just woken up from—images of him, Donald and Goofy sleighing down the snowy mountains in Arendelle on Goofy’s shield still fresh in his mind, the gleeful feeling of <em>winter</em> and cold and holidays settling in his chest—he belatedly realised the cause of his mood.</p><p>“Hey,” Riku said, sleep-hoarse, gently tugging on Sora’s hair to get him to look at him. Sora just clung tighter, wrapping his arms around Riku’s chest and tangling their legs and not letting go. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>For three whole seconds, Sora pretended he was able to keep something from Riku. Then his pout deepened, and he let out another deep sigh that warmed the fabric of Riku’s shirt again.</p><p>“There’s no <em>snow</em> here at the Mysterious Tower!” Sora mumbled, affronted. “How are we supposed to celebrate Christmas without snow? It’s almost Christmas and we haven’t even put up a tree yet!”</p><p>Riku was silent for a second, and then he shook ever so lightly. If Sora hadn’t been pressed so close against him, he wouldn’t have noticed.</p><p>“Are you laughing at me?” This time, Sora drew back a little so he could look at Riku’s face, at his glinting eyes and his lips pressed together. “The betrayal.”</p><p>Instead of replying, Riku leaned forward to kiss him, sweet and soft, his lips lingering for a few seconds. The kiss soothed something inside Sora that had been squirming annoyingly since he woke up, and it made him relax in Riku’s embrace.</p><p>“You lived through sixteen Christmases without snow,” Riku pointed out when he pulled back the barest amount to look at Sora.</p><p>“I <em>know</em>, that’s why I think I deserve a white Christmas <em>now</em>, don’t you think? What good is travelling the worlds if you can’t give yourself one of those Christmases with <em>everything</em>? Like, warm sweaters and snow and ice-skating, and one of those big trees that you need a ladder to decorate properly.” Sora peeked over Riku’s shoulder to survey their bedroom. “Like, a tree that goes all the way up to the ceiling! We could put it right here in our room, and everything would smell like evergreen. Wouldn’t that be great? Do you think we could make it snow if we practise our Blizzard magic hard enough? Although it’s <em>Blizzard</em>, not <em>Snow</em> magic, but snow is a kind of ice, right?”</p><p>Sora stopped talking because he’d run out of breath, so he turned his dreamy gaze back on Riku again and inhaled deeply.</p><p>“Right?” Sora repeated once he got some oxygen back in his lungs.</p><p>Riku had gotten a sort of <em>look</em> on his face, like his thoughts were miles away. On the one hand, that meant Riku had an <em>idea</em>. On the other hand, it meant that Riku’s attention wasn’t on <em>Sora</em>, and that wouldn’t do. So Sora kissed him. A little longer than their previous kiss, a little wetter and a little more tongue tracing Riku’s bottom lip. Right before Riku could start to reciprocate, Sora pulled back.</p><p>“I know that look,” Sora said. “What’re you thinking?”</p><p>Riku’s eyes searched Sora’s face, but he didn’t reply.</p><p>“C’mon! Tell me!” Sora said, with so much enthusiasm one might have thought it was Christmas Eve already and he’d just received all his presents in one go.</p><p>“Hmmmm,” Riku said, his eyes shifting from Sora to the ceiling as he rolled onto his back, tugging Sora on top of him.</p><p>“Rikuuuuu?” Sora folded his arms underneath him and rested his chin on them, continuing to stare at Riku’s face. “If you have a plan for making it snow at the Tower, you should tell me. As my boyfriend, it’s your duty to make me happy.”</p><p>Sora could tell he’d hit a nerve, and he watched with no small amount of satisfaction as Riku’s face went through a complicated series of emotions—from hesitancy to thoughtfulness to a sort of soft resignation. Sora bit his lip to keep himself from smirking, knowing that if he did that, Riku might not tell after all, just to be contrary.</p><p>“There’s…something we could maybe…try?” Riku said to the ceiling, each word deliberate and thoughtful.</p><p>Sora opted to remain silent and let Riku shift through his thoughts. Instead, he squirmed a little so he could wrap his legs around Riku’s octopus-style in order to feel more of his sleep-warm body.</p><p>Remaining silent turned out to be the right choice, as Riku continued after a moment. “You remember during our Mark of Mastery when we met Mickey in the Tower?”</p><p>Sora nodded.</p><p>“Mickey used Master Yen Sid’s hat to do magic for him. And we know Master Yen Sid keeps his hat in his study. He’s out today, visiting Disney Castle, so I was thinking if we went to his study, we could just…<em>borrow</em> it for a few hours? I’m sure there’s a way we could use the hat to make it snow.”</p><p>“Riku!” Sora beamed at him. “You’re so smart, I knew I could count on you to come up with such a good plan. We can turn the Tower into the best winter wonderland <em>ever</em>!”</p><p>Riku’s face turned a little red, but also a little stern as he pinned Sora with a <em>look</em> that did something funny to Sora’s stomach—which he ignored in favour of giving Riku his best wide-eyed innocent look in return.</p><p>Riku’s eyes narrowed. “But we gotta remember that when Mickey used the hat, it went wrong. We have to be careful we don’t make the same mistake he made.”</p><p>“Nu-uh!” Sora said, scrambling to sit up and crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I’m the Hero of Light and you’re a <em>Keyblade Master</em>. We’re awesome. What can go wrong?”</p><p>“Right…” Riku said slowly. “What can go wrong indeed.”</p>
<p></p><div>
  <p>❆❆❆</p>
</div><p>Sora was so excited at the prospect of borrowing Master Yen Sid’s hat that he rushed through his morning shower, got dressed in record time, and considered the pros and cons of skipping breakfast while he tied his shoelaces. Pros: getting to the hat and its magic sooner. Cons: no food. </p><p>The choice was very difficult.</p><p>When Riku <em>finally</em> came out of the ensuite bathroom five minutes later, towelling his hair dry, Sora was on his stomach on their bed, writing a list with all the Christmas things he wanted and never got to try for Christmas before, having lived on a tropical island for fourteen years, and then being preoccupied with saving the world for another two. The list read:</p>
<ul>
<li>Christmas tree</li>
<li>Christmas lights</li>
<li>Snow</li>
<li>Build a snowman</li>
<li>Drink hot chocolate with marshmallows</li>
<li>Make a fire in a fireplace</li>
<s><li>Cuddles with Riku</li></s>
<li>Ice-skating</li>
<li>More snow, like all over the tower</li>
</ul><p>Mmm, maybe Sora would have to prioritise because this was turning out to be a rather long list. That was the reason why he’d crossed out the cuddles; they weren’t particularly wintery and he never had to try very hard to get Riku to cuddle with him. It’d be a nice bonus though, so he would have to keep them in mind.</p><p>He was chewing on the end of his pen when Riku sat down on the edge of the bed, peeking over Sora’s shoulder at the list.</p><p>“Ah,” Riku said drily. “I see your wishes are very modest.” </p><p>“I know, right?” Sora exclaimed brightly. “It’s not much at all. I think we’ll easily be able to do all this in a few hours. Now I just have to decide whether or not to have breakfast first… Your shower already took <em>ages</em>.”</p><p>Riku blinked at him, raising an eyebrow, but remaining silent.</p><p>“What?” Sora demanded.</p><p>With a fond little huff, Riku shook his head. “I’m not skipping breakfast, so either you can get the hat on your own, or you can have breakfast with me.”</p><p>Well, that made that choice easier at least. Sora scrambled to his knees, putting the list in his pocket. “Okay, okay. Lead the way, Master Riku.”</p><p>Riku rolled his eyes, but Sora could see a hint of pink tinting his cheeks right before he pushed himself off the bed and turned to slip on his jacket.</p><p>Because it was so early, no one apart from them was awake at the Tower, which meant breakfast took half the usual time with nobody else in the kitchen to distract them. Riku was chewing thoughtfully on his toast as he watched Sora attempt to talk and shove spoonfuls of sugary cereal in his mouth at the same time.</p><p>“—and then maybe if we figure out how, we can—” A new spoonful of cereal, chew three times, swallow, “—maybe even put a Christmas tree in <em>all</em> of the rooms.” Another spoonful. “I know Kairi would probably love a Christmas tree in her room, but I’m not sure about Lea…” Another spoonful, and this time Sora managed to chew a whole five times before swallowing. “And what about Master Yen Sid’s room?”</p><p>“I’m not putting a Christmas tree in Master Yen Sid’s room,” Riku said, his eyes going a little wide for a second before narrowing. “And neither are you.”</p><p>“Awwwww, okay,” Sora said, bringing the bowl to his mouth to drink the remaining milk in it. “I’m done! Can we go now?”</p><p>Riku pointed to his second slice of toast, and Sora sighed deeply. “Slowpoke.”</p><p>“Some of us care about our digestion,” Riku said after swallowing.</p><p>“Boring,” Sora countered, sticking out his tongue.</p><p>Riku ignored him, and Sora could swear he finished his second piece of toast extra slowly, just to spite Sora.</p><p><em>Finally</em>, though, they were both ready, and at that moment Sora suddenly noticed the butterflies fluttering around in his stomach and the slight chill in his spine at the idea of sneaking into Master Yen Sid’s study on a secret mission. The butterflies mixed with his half-chewed cereal, which wasn’t a very pleasant combination. Maybe Riku had a point and chewing was good, actually. It just took so much <em>time</em>.</p><p>Sora noticed he’d just been standing by the sink for long moments and shook himself out of it. Riku would be with him. In fact, the whole thing was <em>Riku’s</em> idea, so surely it must be a good one?</p><p>Still, just as a precaution, Sora let Riku lead the way up to the very top of the tower, evading all the brooms, and he hid a little behind Riku’s back while Riku used Braveheart to open the door to Master Yen Sid’s study. Inside, the room was dim, with all the candles and lights turned off, but Sora knew exactly where Master Yen Sid kept the hat, so he didn’t need any light to find it. Seeing that the coast was clear, he finally emerged from behind Riku’s back, slowly and quietly pattering towards the bookcase to the right of the window.</p><p>There, on the top shelf, was the hat; bright blue with golden stars and a brilliant crescent moon.</p><p>Sora exhaled quietly. He wasn’t tall enough to reach it, so he summoned his keyblade as quietly as possible—wincing a little at the woosh sound it made as it flashed into his hand—and whisking the hat from the shelf with the tip of his keyblade. </p><p>Riku caught it in both hands, holding the hat carefully away from him as if fireworks would erupt from it at any moment.</p><p>And who knew, maybe that was something that could happen?</p><p>Sora shivered a little with anticipation as he let his keyblade dissipate and reached out to gingerly touch the hat, tracing the shape of the half-moon. Nothing happened, not even a little tiny firecracker, and Sora wasn’t sure if he was more relieved or disappointed.</p><p>“Now what?” he asked, lifting his gaze to meet Riku’s. “How does it work?”</p><p>Riku turned over the hat in his hands a few times, inspecting every inch of it. He tilted his head to the right as his forehead scrunched up a little bit in concentration as he peeked inside. Sora stepped closer, pressing himself into Riku’s side as he looked into the hat, too.</p><p>“I think,” Riku started, his voice almost too loud in the quiet room, so Sora jumped a little. He put his hands behind his back to mask the movement. “One of us should put it on?”</p><p>Sora nodded, trying to ignore the way his heart was racing in his ribcage, beating like a wind-up drumming toy soldier. “Okay. You’re holding it, so you put it on.”</p><p>Riku gave the hat another dubious look, before meeting Sora’s eyes. Sora gave what he hoped was a reassuring, encouraging smile, and not a nervous one.</p><p>Inhaling deeply, Riku’s face went determined as he brought the hat to his head. Sora subconsciously held his breath, his eyes wide in the dim room as he watched Riku put it on. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then Sora gasped as the hat started <em>glowing</em>, illuminating the whole room in a warm, golden light.</p><p>Sora clapped his hands and did a little hop. “It worked! Quick, do something magicky.”</p><p>“Like what?” Riku asked, still carefully holding onto the edges of the hat.</p><p>“Mmmm, Christmas lights on the ceiling?”</p><p>Riku looked up, closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, tiny little lights were twinkling all over the ceiling of Master Yen Sid’s study. </p><p>Sora clapped again, jumping into Riku’s space to give him a tight hug. The force of it made Riku stagger backwards, his back against the bookcase, and he only barely managed to keep the hat from falling off his head. </p><p>“Sora!”</p><p>“It worked, Riku! Ah, you’re so smart!”</p><p>Those words shut Riku up fast, and after a moment, he hugged Sora back, arms warm and strong around Sora’s shoulders. Sora let himself enjoy the feeling for a few seconds, before pulling back, beaming up at Riku. With his right hand, he fished his Christmas wish list out of his pocket.</p><p>“Now, where should we start…”</p><p>“Maybe we should do a bit of a trial run in our room, first? Just in case if we mess up, no one else gets to see it?”</p><p>Sora nodded, already making his way over to the door. “Good idea!”</p><p>On their way down, they came across a group of a dozen brooms, getting ready for another day of sweeping and cleaning windows or whatever it was that the brooms did all day.</p><p>“Hey, Riku,” Sora started, a clever idea suddenly forming in his head. “Can you dress up the brooms as little snowmen? Like Olaf?”</p><p>Riku hesitated for a second, eyeing the brooms dubiously.</p><p>Sora let the left corner of his mouth curl up into a little half-smirk, placing both hands on his hips as he turned to face Riku. “Unless, of course, you think you can’t do it.”</p><p>“I can do it,” Riku said a little too quickly, and if Sora didn’t know any better he would’ve said Riku was <em>pouting</em>.</p><p>Sora crossed his arms in front of his chest, glancing back towards the brooms, which had all halted their movements and were now looking at Riku.</p><p>After a few seconds, little streaks of golden light erupted from the hat, twirling their way towards the brooms and encircling each one in turn. Sora watched with wide eyes and open mouth as each broomstick was suddenly equipped with two large white snowballs—like wintery shish kebab sticks on twig legs. Next, accessories sparkled into existence to decorate each snowball on the brooms: little black coals for buttons, eyes and a mouth; a carrot for a nose; and each of them had a little red scarf wrapped around their necks.</p><p>By the time they were all done, Sora was beaming brightly, unable to look away. The brooms stood still for a few moments, and then they <em>bowed</em> to Riku, their black coal mouths turning up into a smile. </p><p>“Oh!” Sora exclaimed, his smile growing even bigger. “They <em>like</em> it!”</p><p>With another bow, the brooms turned around and continued about their business as usual. Sora stared for a little longer until he felt Riku’s eyes on him. He blinked and tore his gaze away.</p><p>“Told you I could do it,” Riku said, one hand on his hip, trying and failing to suppress a proud grin.</p><p>But Sora wasn’t about to disagree with him. “Riku, that was <em>amazing</em>!”</p><p>Sora took Riku’s hand, dragging him down the flights of stairs back towards their room. </p><p>“You’re a natural at this! Hey, do you think that’s because you’re a Keyblade Master? Or did King Mickey teach you how to do this when I wasn’t around? Or maybe I’m also just as good at it, but I just haven’t tried yet, so I don’t know… Hey, Riku, lemme try, too!”</p><p>Riku reached up his free hand to grab protectively at the hat.</p><p>“Fine,” Sora said, trying not to stick out his lower lip. After all, Riku had barely done two spells so far. “Maybe you should just do a few more things, first. Then we can switch.”</p><p>Back in their room, Sora pointed at the empty spot between the wooden desk, piled with books and notes, potions and some synthesis materials, and their large wooden wardrobe. “That’s the perfect spot for a Christmas tree. As tall as possible. With rainbow lights.” Sora paused for a second, then added, “Please.”</p><p>He sat down on the bed, cross-legged with his chin resting in his hands, as he watched Riku use the hat to magic a large fir into existence, followed by a string of hundreds of lights in every colour of the rainbow that wrapped itself neatly around all the branches.</p><p>“Did you want decorations, too?” Riku asked.</p><p>But Sora was too stunned into silence to answer. He’d seen Christmas trees before, of course, in Christmas Town some time ago—it was still hard at times to place his memories in the right time frame after the year he’d spend in Quadratum—but he didn’t remember them ever looking like <em>this</em>. </p><p>It was beautiful.</p><p>As he watched, silver baubles appeared in little flashes of light, one on each branch of the tree.</p><p>Vaguely Sora felt the mattress dipping next to him as Riku sat down by his side, and they watched the tree together. It reached almost all the way to the ceiling, but Sora noticed there was still some space left for a big tree topper. He let himself fall sideways against Riku’s upper arm and shoulder, trusting Riku to catch him and hold him, which he did with an arm around Sora’s waist.</p><p>“Do you like it?” Riku asked softly.</p><p>“I love it,” Sora replied, surprised at how his voice came out a little tearful. “I really wanted a tree exactly like this… It’s beautiful.”</p><p>Riku took off the hat and held it out to Sora. “Do you wanna magic up the tree topper?”</p><p>Sora wiped at his eyes with his free hand, a little embarrassed when his hand came away wet, and reached for the hat. Earlier, he’d really wanted to give it a try, but suddenly being handed the opportunity, it was a little scary. What if he couldn’t do it? Or worse, what if he tried and messed it up?</p><p>But a look at Riku’s face, and the little nod he gave Sora as he placed the hat in Sora’s lap, was enough for Sora to gain some confidence back.</p><p>Still, he gently touched both hands to the hat, not putting it on yet. “Do you think I can do it?”</p><p>Riku nudged him lightly, then twined a hand in Sora’s hair, gently gently tilting Sora’s face up to look at him. “I <em>know</em> you can.”</p><p>Sora held his breath for a few seconds, mesmerised by the way Riku was looking at him so intently, his eyes reflecting each one of the thousand rainbow lights. Sora wanted to squirm a little, the butterflies from this morning suddenly back in full force, but this time thrilling and <em>nice</em>.</p><p>“Okay,” Sora said softly, and because he felt his cheeks warm up, he drew his gaze away from Riku and towards the hat in his lap. He carefully put it on, and before he could doubt himself further, Riku grabbed his hand and gave it a little squeeze.</p><p>“You just close your eyes and picture what you want.”</p><p>Ignoring his racing heart, Sora closed his eyes and squeezed Riku’s hand tightly in return. Imagining a large silver star, he felt the rush of magic flow through him, tingling his skin and then rushing out from his chest into the room. When he opened his eyes, there was a large star-shaped tree topper on the tree, even more beautiful than what Sora had pictured.</p><p>He let out a little joyful whoop, throwing himself sideways into Riku’s arms with all the giddy energy that was suddenly inside of him. “I did it!”</p><p>Riku tumbled backwards onto the mattress from the force of Sora’s tackle hug, drawing Sora down on top of him for a spontaneous cuddle. Sora was feeling so many things right then that it was hard to pick out one emotion to focus on. Luckily Riku’s arms were clasped tightly around him, grounding him in the moment. He laughed.</p><p>“You did it,” Riku confirmed, soothing a hand up and down Sora’s spine. </p><p>The touch made Sora shiver and settle back into his body, all the spinning emotions that threatened to overwhelm him seconds ago slowly calming back down, like snow in a snowglobe. Riku’s physical nearness always did this to him.</p><p>After a long, very nice moment of this, Sora scrambled to sit back up, still grinning brightly. And it wasn’t even Christmas yet. “Should we make it snow in the hallways next?”</p><p>Riku struggled to sit up as well, shifting Sora a little so he ended up neatly in Riku’s lap. He’d struck out the “cuddles with Riku” item on his list, but now he got to have them anyway. This day was shaping up to be one of the best days of his life. Sora wrapped his arms around Riku’s shoulders again, clinging tightly for a moment longer. Then again, every day he got to hug or kiss Riku was a good day, and luckily that was almost every day now.</p><p>Riku didn’t answer, just let Sora cling for a bit, stroking his hair and then gently kneading the muscles in his upper back, making Sora go soft and pliant in his arms.</p><p>When Sora felt like he had his emotions back under control, Riku let him go.</p><p>“Okay, let’s see what you’ve got, wizard Sora.”</p><p>Sora hopped off the bed and reached back for Riku’s hand. “Okay!”</p><p>Using the hat turned out to be as easy as using magic in battle. The hat felt light yet powerful on his head, and Sora barely had to close his eyes and picture what he wanted before he felt it being magicked into existence.</p><p>They took turns with the hat, making it snow in every hallway, starting from the ground up. They made a snowman in the entry hall, not with magic but by rolling little snowballs into bigger ones until they could stack three on top of each other to make a snowman even taller than Riku. </p><p>Riku then used Master Yen Sid’s hat to create a carrot, a scarf, some coals and a top hat for the snowman, and Sora named him Peppermint. When Riku asked why, Sora explained that he’d met a snowman named Marshmallow and peppermints were also white, so it was a fitting name.</p><p>Making their way back up to the floor where everyone else’s bedrooms were located, Sora and Riku passed the hat back and forth, alternating whenever one of them started feeling tired or a little drained of magic. Every floor got their own Christmas tree on the landing, the hallways received strings of light all over the walls, and they made snowflakes gently fall from the ceiling.</p><p>In the hallway where Kairi and Lea had their rooms, Sora took the hat to turn the entire hallway into a large ice rink, from the end of the hallway to the top of the stairs. When he was done, he suppressed a yawn, wishing he had an Ether on hand as he felt his eyes drooping a little from using up so much of his magic. He was having way too much fun, though, so he shook his head and forced his eyes wide open again.</p><p>“Hey, what time is it? Do Kairi and Lea always get up this late?”</p><p>Riku glanced at his Gummiphone screen. “It’s almost noon. I think this may be considered early for Lea, seeing as how we’ve got this week off from training and studying.”</p><p>“Let’s wait for them to wake up. We can go ice-skating in the meantime!”</p><p><em>Ice-skating</em> probably wasn’t the proper word for what they did, but Sora couldn’t care less. With the hat firmly placed on his head, Sora slid over all the way to the top of the staircase, then turned around and propelled himself forward on the slippery surface towards Riku, who was standing in the centre of the round landing with his arms open. When Sora rushed into Riku’s arm, Riku spun him around, both of them laughing and clinging to each other so as not to slip and fall.</p><p>After a few rounds of this, one of the doors down the hallway opened. </p><p>“Can’t you kids keep it <em>down</em> a little, do you know what time it—” </p><p>Sora looked up just in time to see Lea, dressed in a bright red dressing gown, stepping out of the room, and promptly falling down on his butt. Sora doubled over with laughter, only keeping upright because Riku was holding onto his arm.</p><p>“Lea,” Sora laughed. “You have to <em>glide</em> across the ice when you’re ice-skating.”</p><p>Lea crossed his arms, glaring so hard Sora almost flinched. “What the hell did you guys <em>do</em>?”</p><p>“We’re turning the Tower into a winter wonderland,” Sora said as soon as he stopped laughing. “Isn’t it fun?”</p><p>“Fun is not the word I’d use,” Lea grumbled, still glaring.</p><p>“Aw, Lea,” Riku said, and Sora could hear the smirk in his voice. “Where’s your Christmas spirit?”</p><p>“Must’ve disappeared during the night, alongside your sense of responsibility.”</p><p>Before Sora could reply, the door to Kairi’s room opened.</p><p>“Ah,” Lea said, perking up a little. “Now you can also laugh at—”</p><p>But before Lea finished his sentence, Kairi stepped out of her room, fully dressed in a pair of jeans and a pink hoodie, her hair up in a little bun, doing a graceful pirouette on the ice. She finished in a neat pose with her arms to the side, smiling at Sora and Riku.</p><p>“Oh, Kairi, teach me how to do that!” Sora exclaimed as Lea slammed his fists down on the ice next to him, grumbling “Ugh, really?” under his breath.</p><p>Kairi slid over to Sora and Riku while Lea tried in vain to get off of the slippery ice. Sora thought he muttered something not so very nice under his breath, but he ignored it in favour of welcoming Kairi into his one free arm in a half-embrace.</p><p>“Wowwww,” Kairi whistled. “What did you <em>do</em>? Did you make all this?” She looked from the Christmas tree in the landing up towards the ceiling, opening her mouth to catch a few of the drifting snowflakes on her tongue.</p><p>“Yup!” Sora said proudly. “I wanted to decorate the tower for Christmas, and Riku came up with the idea of using Master Yen Sid’s hat! Isn’t he clever?” </p><p>He took off the hat and handed it to Kairi. </p><p>“Do you wanna try?”</p><p>“Hell yeah,” Kairi slammed the hat onto her head, but then, as she brought her arms back to her sides, her shoulders slumped a little. “Is it…difficult?”</p><p>“It’s just like doing magic,” Sora reassured her. “You can do it!”</p><p>Kairi nodded, raising her chin, and she stared intently at the windowsill above the stairs. The hat started to glow, and golden lights erupted from it, one after the other, twirling towards the window. With a poof, stuffed animals materialised—a teddy bear, a snowman, a reindeer, a rabbit and a dog. Each of them was carrying a little instrument, drums or a trumpet, and with another golden flash, the little marching band started playing Christmas songs.</p><p>“Wow,” Riku whistled lowly. “Impressive!”</p><p>“Ohhh, that’s exactly what we were missing!” Sora laughed. “Christmas music!”</p><p>Before any of them could say more, Lea appeared behind them and grabbed the hat off Kairi’s hair.</p><p>“Hey!” she sputtered indignantly, trying to grab it back, but Lea held it too high for any of them to grab—even Riku, though he made a valiant attempt.</p><p>“No more magic before breakfast. I can’t handle all this holiday cheer before I’ve even had any coffee.”</p><p>Sora, Riku, and Kairi adopted matching pouts, and Sora was about to summon his keyblade to challenge Lea for the hat when Riku relaxed.</p><p>“Well,” he said, turning to Sora. “You wanted hot chocolate, right? We should take a break anyway. Using all this magic <em>is</em> pretty draining.”</p><p>Kairi’s face lit up again. “I’ll text Roxas and Naminé and Xion to come over! They can take the train from Twilight Town and be here in half an hour! We can all play in the snow!”</p><p>“What a good idea!” Sora said brightly, already turning towards the staircase down to the kitchen. “Look, Lea, Kairi! We worked very hard while you two sleepyheads were still in bed. Look what we can do now!”</p><p>And instead of going down the stairs the normal way, Sora sat down and slid down the snow-covered steps, getting up at the bottom and turning around with his arms spread. “Tada!”</p><p>Kairi and Riku followed his example, sliding down the stairs as if they were a snow-covered hillside, while Lea rolled his eyes and walked down the stairs normally, even though his steps were a little wobbly in the snow.</p><p>“Hey, shouldn’t we make it stop snowing for now?” Sora said when they arrived at the kitchen door. “You know, just in case?”</p><p>Lea looked up at the ceiling, and since he was the one with the hat now, one glance from him made it stop snowing.</p><p>“<em>Now</em> we can have hot chocolate,” Sora announced.</p>
<p></p><div>
  <p>❆❆❆</p>
</div><p>Twenty minutes later, Sora and Riku were finishing up their hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows, while Kairi was typing away on her phone, her empty cereal bowl pushed to the side. Lea was nursing his third cup of coffee and looking marginally more awake. The hat was in the centre of the kitchen table.</p><p>Sora looked around happily, scooting his chair a little closer to Riku’s. The Tower’s kitchen was spacy, with dozens of white cupboards with glass windows everywhere, a handful of wooden shelves with pots and pans, and a massive kitchen table which could seat up to ten people—or twelve if you squeezed closely together. The best part about the kitchen was the stone fireplace though, in which Lea had started a crackling fire with barely a flick of his wrist.</p><p>“When are Roxas, Naminé, and Xion arriving?” Sora asked, feeling his eyes droop a little again, partly in exhaustion and partly because he felt so snug and cosy.</p><p>Kairi opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say something, there was the sound of the large front doors opening and closing again. Sora would’ve jumped up to greet them, but he had just gotten comfortable pressed against Riku’s side, and he was all warm and fuzzy-feeling, and the fireplace was very soothing, so he stayed where he was.</p><p>“Hello?” Kairi asked, but there was no answer. Then, hesitantly, “That must be them?”</p><p>Lea nodded, seemingly guessing what Kairi was thinking. “Didn’t Yen Sid say he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow?”</p><p>“Did he?” Sora asked. He never paid too much attention to the old wizard’s words, especially not when Riku was in the same room at the same time. “Then they’re here! I hope they like Peppermint.”</p><p>There were no further sounds from outside of the kitchen for a while, which made sense because the entire tower was covered in a layer of magical snow, and Roxas, Xion and Naminé were probably admiring their handiwork. Sora dozed off a little, humming absentmindedly when a hand came up to card through his hair. He ignored Lea’s gagging noises from across the table.</p><p>Then the door to the kitchen was slammed open, and Sora’s eyes widened as he jerked back awake.</p><p>“Rox—”</p><p>The words died in Sora’s throat just as he felt Riku stiffen by his side. Lea, who had his back to the door, whirled himself around at seeing Sora’s and Riku’s reactions. </p><p>“Oh,” he said blankly.</p><p>“Good afternoon,” said Master Yen Sid.</p><p>For a long few seconds, nobody moved. Then Sora’s eyes flicked from the old wizard’s face to his hat, which was lying prominently on the table. There was no way Master Yen Sid hadn’t seen it…unless— Kairi’s body kind of blocked his view of the table, <em>maybe </em>if they were really lucky he hadn’t caught sight of it. Riku seemed to have that very same idea, as he reached out his free hand, drew the hat across the table, then hid it behind his back.</p><p>“Good afternoon, Master Yen Sid,” Kairi said with a cheerful tone as if nothing was wrong and they’d just been having a very normal brunch on a very normal day off.</p><p>Master Yen Sid stepped across the threshold and into the kitchen, slowly making his way towards the table.</p><p>“I will take that, Riku.”</p><p>Riku flushed a very pretty shade of pink, and slowly removed the hat from behind his back, holding it out for Master Yen Sid to take.</p><p>“We only borrowed it for a little while…” Riku started. At Master Yen Sid’s firm and steady gaze, his shoulders sagged as he curled his hands into his lap. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, too. It was as much my doing as Riku’s,” Sora piped up bravely, grabbing Riku’s hand where it was resting against his thigh and squeezing it. “If you’re gonna scold him, you should scold me, too.”</p><p>“Sora…” Riku said, so softly that Sora barely heard it.</p><p>But instead of further beratement, Master Yen Sid shook his head and Sora could swear he saw a twinkle appear in his eyes. “I understand that this is the week before Christmas and that you wanted to decorate. The Christmas trees and the lights are…<em>acceptable</em>. However, while I understand you are from tropical islands and snow is a bit of a novelty to you, surely you must realise that snow and ice are generally not suitable for <em>indoors</em>?”</p><p>“Oh,” Sora said, just as Riku muttered, “Oops.”</p><p>Master Yen Sid continued, “On my way to the kitchen, I came across the library, where what I can only presume were my <em>brooms</em> getting snow all over the floor as they were slowly melting and leaving puddles across the library floor.”</p><p>“Ooooopssssss,” Sora said quietly, turning his face to hide it in Riku’s arm.</p><p>There was a short pause, during which Sora tried not to squirm or feel stupid.</p><p>“I’m really sorry, Master Yen Sid,” Riku said again. “We tried to be responsible, but I can see how we messed up. We’ll fix it.”</p><p>Sora turned his head to see Master Yen’s face and determine how much he had to brace himself for a scolding. He was surprised to see the older man’s gaze soft, and this time Sora was <em>sure</em> his eyes were twinkling. He handed the hat back to Riku.</p><p>“Just for today.”</p><p>Sora sat up straight, his mouth falling open.</p><p>“And next time, ask me for permission.”</p><p>“What, <em>really</em>?” Lea exclaimed, his face falling now that Sora and Riku seemed to be getting out of this with only an accepted apology.</p><p>“Don’t make me regret my decision,” Master Yen Sid said with a firm look. “Though I cannot fathom <em>why</em>, the brooms seemed very happy to be snowmen for a day. They offered to clean up the library floor themselves. Said it was due for a good mopping anyway.”</p><p>Sora watched Riku take the hat and stare at it with his mouth slightly open, his lips moving as if he was trying to form words but couldn’t.</p><p>“Thank you,” Sora said, an easy smile back on his face now that it seemed they weren’t in any trouble. “We’re very grateful. Riku’s grateful, too.”</p><p>Riku nodded, finally taking his eyes off the hat to look at Sora, and relaxing when he saw Sora’s smile directed at him. </p><p>Sora beamed, and the rest of the world seemed to disappear for a bit as Riku’s eyes crinkled and the corners of his mouth quirked up. Vaguely, Sora heard Lea make gagging noises again, but after a dull thump and a yelp, even those gagging noises went away.</p><p>“Sora! Axel! Kairi! Riku! Where is all this <em>snow</em> coming from?”</p><p>Sora was jolted out of the little bubble that was him and Riku to see Roxas coming to a halt in the door opening, framed by Xion and Naminé on either side of him.</p><p>“Sora and Riku turned the tower into a Christmas winter wonderland with Master Sid’s magical hat,” Kairi said cheerfully. “But they forgot that it’s supposed to snow only outdoors, so now we have to take it outside.” Kairi pushed her chair away from the table, bowing quickly to where Master Yen Sid stood with his arms crossed next to the kitchen counter, then rushed over to grab Xion and Naminé by the hand. “You guys wanna build a snowman?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Xion and Naminé exclaimed in unison.</p><p>“Hey, Riku,” Kairi said, grinning as she turned back around. “Magic up some Christmas sweaters and coats for all of us!”</p><p>“Whoa, whoa, wait. Time-out,” said Lea. “Who says I’m joining you outside in the snow?”</p><p>Roxas glared at him, both hands on his hips. “Who else is gonna help me beat Sora and Riku in a snowball fight?”</p><p>“Ohhh, when you put it like that,” Lea said, perking up a little at that idea. “At least let me put on some trousers.”</p><p>Roxas rolled his eyes but inclined his head once in agreement. “Riku, are you just gonna sit there and make goo-goo eyes at Sora, or are you coming with us? I’m sure he already knows you love him.”</p><p>Riku flushed an even darker shade of pink, turning to glare at Roxas, and before Sora was aware of what he was doing, he’d reached out both hands to cup Riku’s cheeks and make him look back at <em>him</em>. </p><p>Sora’s stomach gave a pleasant, slightly greedy swirl when he saw Riku’s bright, wide eyes focused back on him. “Roxas is right. I do know you love me. But you can still look at me however long you like.”</p><p>Riku nodded, looking a bit dazed still, though Sora didn’t know if it was from Master Yen Sid’s unexpected generosity, or Roxas’s words, or Sora’s presence. Sora hoped it was the latter. Just for good measure, he leaned into Riku’s space and kissed his cheek, pleased to find it soft and very warm under his lips.</p><p>“Okay, that’s it,” Lea said, exasperated, pushing back his chair and stalking out of the kitchen. “See you outside in five minutes, Rox. I can’t wait to shovel snow down their necks.”</p><p>“You wish!” Sora called after him. And then, in a low whisper to Riku. “We still have the hat, after all.”</p><p>Master Yen Sid cleared his throat. “I expect you to use it <em>responsibly</em>.”</p><p>“Right,” Sora said quickly. “Very responsibly.” And then, when Master Yen Sid turned to leave the kitchen, he gathered all his nerve and spoke up again. “Wait. Master Yen Sid. I was wondering… Would you like a Christmas tree in your study?” </p><p>Riku shot him a <em>look</em>, but Sora squared his shoulders and pursed his lips while he awaited the reply. It came after a few long seconds. </p><p>“Yes, Sora. I would like that very much.”</p>
<p></p><div>
  <p>❆❆❆</p>
</div><p>Once Riku had gotten over the shock of being <em>given</em> the hat for the rest of the day, Sora all but dragged him down the stairs and out the door, where Riku magically made it snow <em>outside</em> with the hat, and Kairi and Xion threw snowballs at both of them until Riku gave them all festive Christmas sweaters and warm winter coats.</p><p>Then they put the hat aside to play in the snow, and Sora was sorry to say that—although it was a close call—he and Riku lost the snow fight with Roxas and Lea, on account of Roxas and Lea being dirty <em>cheaters</em>, and Roxas shovelling snow down Sora’s neck while Lea pressed Riku face-down into the snow until they both yielded.</p><p>After calling a truce, all of them spent the entire afternoon in the snow outside, making snow angels, building snowmen, and sledding down the hills between the trees. They only briefly took a break in the kitchen to warm up near the fire and to drink more hot chocolate. When evening came and they all got tired of playing in the snow (and Sora’s lips turned slightly blue), Lea made them split pea soup, served with thickly-sliced bread and blue cheese, which warmed them all up again. </p><p>After dinner, Roxas, Xion and Naminé took the train back towards Twilight Town while Sora and Riku followed Master Yen Sid up to his study to use the hat a final time for a Christmas tree: a classical Norway fir with blue baubles and garlands, and a string of golden stars for lights.</p><p>Then they placed the hat back on the shelf they’d taken it from and wished Master Yen Sid goodnight.</p><p>The tower had been completely cleared of snow now, though Sora didn’t know if it had been the brooms alone or if Master Yen Sid had helped them. After trudging down the (sparkly clean) stairs and into their room, Sora kicked off his shoes and pushed his face up to the window. He was happy to see the snow still lying outside. There was even some fresh snow falling, even though they had given the hat back to Master Yen Sid as promised.</p><p>“Do you think it’ll last until Christmas?” Sora asked.</p><p>Riku draped himself against Sora’s back, encircling his waist from behind. Sora sighed with happiness as Riku rested his chin on top of Sora’s hair. “The snow?”</p><p>“Hmm-mm,” Sora replied, shivering a little because he was still slightly cold, and Riku was nice and solid and warm. They’d been allowed to keep their Christmas sweaters because Sora had asked Master Yen Sid very nicely, and he’d not said no. Sora’s was red with little reindeer on it, and Riku’s was blue with a giant snowman on the front, and Riku both looked and felt very nice in it.</p><p>“I think so,” Riku said. “Master Yen Sid looked very pleased with the Christmas tree we gave him.”</p><p>“It <em>was</em> very pretty, wasn’t it?”</p><p>“It was,” Riku confirmed.</p><p>They stood for a little while, silently watching the snow fall. The rainbow lights on the tree reflected in the window and gave everything the magical holiday atmosphere Sora had so longed for. He leaned back a little more into Riku’s arms, content when Riku pressed a kiss into his hair, and then another, and then another.</p><p>Sora wiggled his hand into his pocket, taking out his Christmas wish list and looking at all the items again:</p>
<ul>
<li>Christmas tree</li>
<li>Christmas lights</li>
<li>Snow</li>
<li>Build a snowman</li>
<li>Drink hot chocolate with marshmallows</li>
<li>Make a fire in a fireplace</li>
<s><li>Cuddles with Riku</li></s>
<li>Ice-skating</li>
<li>More snow, like all over the tower</li>
</ul><p>“Hey, Riku… We managed to do them all,” Sora said softly, not wanting to break the comfortable mood. “Even though the snow all over the tower probably wasn’t a good idea.”</p><p>“They were all good ideas,” Riku said, making Sora blush and squirm a little.</p><p>“Rikuuuuu,” he whined fondly because he didn’t know what else to reply. Riku’s arms tightened around him in return.</p><p>“But why did you cross out the cuddles?”</p><p>“Oh,” Sora said, shoving the list back in his pocket, then turning around in Riku’s arms, so he could hug Riku back properly. “I know we can cuddle any day. So it wasn’t like…an item on my <em>Christmas</em> list. It’s just an item on my everyday list.”</p><p>“So you do wanna cuddle?” Riku asked, his hands slipping underneath Sora’s sweater, fingers warm and gentle as they slid across the dip of Sora’s back, sending little tingles all over Sora’s skin.</p><p>“I always wanna cuddle with you, Riku…” Sora muttered, leaning up for a kiss which Riku happily returned.</p><p>They traded easy kisses back and forth for a while, soft and with little sighs every time they paused to smile at each other in the low light. Riku’s silver hair reflected all the rainbow lights in the tree, which made Sora sigh and smile again in contentment.</p><p>“Can we cuddle underneath the Christmas tree?” Sora asked.</p><p>“Of course,” Riku replied with another kiss.</p><p>Sora let out a little whoop of laughter, before bounding out of Riku’s arms to gather blankets from all over the room, making a giant blanket nest next to the Christmas tree.</p><p>Riku chuckled to himself. “At least we don’t need a magic hat to make blankets. I think you’ve collected enough to start a small orphanage.”</p><p>“Shut up,” Sora said, barely suppressing a pout. “You love my blankets.”</p><p>Riku hummed affirmatively, leaning back against the windowsill as he watched Sora fuss with the blanket nest. When all the blankets were placed satisfactorily, Sora extended both his hands to Riku, who moved over to him immediately.</p><p>With easy, practised movements, Riku pressed him down into the blankets, wrapping his arms around Sora and resting his head against Sora’s chest. Sora’s right hand wound into Riku’s slightly mussed, yet still satiny hair, the other coming to rest between Riku’s shoulder blades, rubbing in little circles. Riku was a heavy weight on top of him, but it made Sora feel a sense of security he didn’t know how to describe. It was warm and nice and the gentle pressure of Riku’s body against his sank deep into him. Any restlessness that he may have felt melted away, leaving a calming, tingling sensation in its wake.</p><p>Despite wanting to stay awake to enjoy this moment a little longer, the excitement and the strenuous work of the day finally caught up with him. He yawned, and Riku chuckled against his chest. </p><p>“I don’t wanna go to sleep…” Sora mumbled, already halfway there.</p><p>“The tree will be here until after New Year’s Day, Sora. We can cuddle here, every day, if you want.” Riku leaned to one side to draw one of the blankets over both of them.</p><p>“I do want that,” Sora mumbled, his words slurred. “I can’t believe I got to do all of the things on my list. Even the cuddles. Thanks, Riku. You’re the best.”</p><p>The last thing he heard before he drifted off to sleep was Riku’s soft and tender, “You’re welcome, Sora.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Update: Faux drew <a href="https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1341924516373659659?s=20">super cute and adorable fanart of the skating scene</a>, please send her some love!!</p><p> </p><p>Please come talk to me about Sora and Riku on <a href="https://twitter.com/fortheloveinyou">Twitter</a> :D</p></blockquote></div></div>
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